Care and Comfort
by AtLoLevad
Summary: After she gets discharged from the hospital, Jane and Kurt insist that Patterson come stay with them for a couple of days while she recovers.


"Guys, I'm seriously fine. I can go home," Patterson protested, even as Weller gently nudged her into his and Jane's apartment.

"You were literally blown up four days ago, Patterson," Jane said, a wry twist to her lips. "I know this team seems to have nine lives, but let us take care of you."

Patterson wrinkled her nose a little in embarrassment, but her cheeks flushed pink in appreciation. "Thanks guys. I'll be out of your hair soon. I'm practically back to normal anyway." As she finished her sentence, a sharp spike of pain pulsed through her neck. "Ow!" she grumbled, running her fingers gently over the gauze pad taped to her neck.

"Okay," Kurt said gently, "enough protesting. Hop on the couch and relax. We have Netflix."

Patterson sighed and curled into a ball on the corner of the couch. "I'm doing this under duress, I want that on the record," she grumbled, queuing up Netflix.

"Duly noted," Kurt drawled, placing the bottles of antibiotics and painkillers the doctor had given Patterson on the counter. Jane shot him a small smile.

"Does Reade know you use his Netflix login?" Patterson laughed from the couch.

Kurt and Jane shared a sheepish look.

"Noooo," Jane hedged, dragging the word out.

"And you're not going to tell him," Kurt warned, using his growly Assistant Director voice.

Patterson turned on the couch to look at the couple. She grinned and gave them a mock-salute, "Sir, yes, sir."

* * *

"Hey, Patterson," Jane knelt down next to the couch and gently ran her hand over Patterson's arm.

"Gah!" Patterson shot up, arms flailing a little bit so Jane had to lean back to avoid being hit in the face. She blinked a little dazedly and then gasped, "Oh! I'm sorry Jane! I was..." She trailed off. She'd been having a nightmare, but she didn't necessarily want to tell Jane that.

"No harm, no foul," Jane said easily. She held up a glass of water. "It's time for you antibiotic. I didn't want to let you get off schedule."

"Oh," Patterson smiled a little bit and sat up. "Thanks."

She took to glass of water and the pill, swallowing it quickly. Jane leaned back on her heels while Patterson finished the whole glass of water.

"What?" Patterson asked self-consciously. She patted at her face. "Do I have like weird pillow marks on my cheek or something?"

"Oh, no," Jane laughed a little. "I'm just really glad you're okay. I know you didn't want to stay with me and Kurt, but I - we like knowing that someone's here if you need us."

Patterson felt her cheeks grow hot - she wasn't a big fan of being looked after. "Thanks, Jane. It's not so bad being here," she smiled, before joking, "Although, how you get any sleep with Kurt's snoring is a minor miracle."

Jane rolled her eyes as she stood up. "He's not that bad. I was going to make some lunch, want to join me?"

"God, yes", Patterson agreed, jumping off the couch. "I feel like my brain is withering away. I need to do something."

"It's literally been a day and a half since you were discharged," Jane said, incredulous.

"I know!" Patterson exclaimed dramatically. "It's been too long."

She hopped up onto the bar stool at the counter and rested her chin in her palm. "What are we making?"

"I was thinking soup and grilled cheese?" Jane said, searching in the lower cabinets for a large pot.

"Sounds good to me," Patterson agreed. "But, just so you know, I'm going to be less than helpful. I burn everything."

Jane laughed and started getting things ready for the soup. "Don't worry about it. I'm not the best cook either. But I'm working on it - Kurt can't be the only one who knows how to keep us alive without takeout."

They worked in quiet for a little bit - Jane concentrating on the recipe she had pulled up on her phone and Patterson trying to hide her yawning. Her neck and head did hurt a bit.

Jane quietly nudged the bottle of Advil towards Patterson. The blonde took it sheepishly - reminded again about just how good a mom Jane is, was, and would be.

"How's Avery?" Patterson asked quietly, curious about the teen.

"She's - hesitant," Jane sighed. But then she smiled brighter, "But she texts me. I think that's a good sign."

"It is!" Patterson nodded, smiling at the bright, hopeful look on Jane's face. "Soon she'll be around so much, you'll want to get rid of her."

Jane laughed.

"And! I'll get to be Aunt Patterson to a kid that actually lives in the same state as me," she grinned, effectively lightening the mood.

* * *

Later in the week, Kurt found himself on the couch, sandwiched between Jane and Patterson as some reality show played on the TV.

Jane's head rested on his lap, her body curled up on the cushions next to him. Her face was slack with sleep. One hand was curled loosely around his knee and the other was tucked under her cheek.

The shoulder on the other side of his body was going numb from Patterson's head resting on it. Her mouth was slightly open as she snorted gently - fingers twitching occasionally against her thigh.

"Oh brother," Kurt muttered to himself. He tried wiggling his fingers but they were too numb to feel.

Despite the numbness in his arm, Kurt had to admit that he didn't mind his predicament. Having Jane back and working on their relationship made him happier than he had been in a long time. And with Sarah across the country, Patterson was the closest thing he had to a sister. He'd been terrified that they were going to lose her - so if the price to pay for having Patterson alive was a numb arm, he'd take it.

"Ngghhh," Patterson grunted in her sleep and Kurt suppressed a laugh.

"Hey," he nudged her with his elbow.

"Bleghhhh," she grumbled, but Kurt saw her eyelids twitch.

"Gonna stay there all night?" he asked gently, brushing his fingers through Jane's hair to try and wake her up a little bit too.

"S'comfy," she muttered.

Kurt laughed, even as Jane stirred. She yawned and curled up a little more, mumbling, "Time's it?"

"Nearly two," Kurt replied. Patterson shifted against his shoulder and her chin dug into muscle. He winced. "Come on, ladies. Time to relocate."

Jane yawned again and did a semi-roll off the couch and Kurt's lap, landing neatly on the balls of her feet. She straightened up and ran a hand through her messy hair before blinking sleepily and ambling off towards hers and Kurt's bedroom. Kurt watched her go - his face relaxing into an expression of soft admiration. She was the best thing to happen to him.

Turning his attention to Patterson, Kurt gently nudged the younger woman in this side with his knuckles. "Come on, Patterson. The guest bed is more comfortable than the couch."

He stood carefully, pulling Patterson to her feet, even as she was blearily waking up. She squinted one eye open to glare at him and licked dry lips.

"Moving is overrated," she grumbled, stumbling over her feet as Kurt led her into the guest room that she had co-opted for the last few days.

"I know," Kurt agreed easily, "but you'll thank me when you don't wake up with a stiff neck."

"Mmm," Patterson hummed, already crawling into the bed. She shifted around the bed, adjusting pillows and blankets and her own body until she was comfortably cocooned amongst the pillows and thick winter blankets.

"Comfortable?" Kurt teased, standing at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed.

"Very," Patterson replied with a sleepy, cheeky smile. She yawned and Kurt turned to leave.

He was pretty much in the hallway when Patterson called out to him. "Kurt?"

"Yeah?" he turned and poked his head back into the room.

"Thanks for letting me stay," she said quietly. "It was nice to be around you guys while I was recovering."

Kurt smiled to himself. To Patterson, he said, "Any time. You're family, Patterson. We take care of family."

Patterson let out a contented little sigh and Kurt whispered, "Night, Patterson."

* * *

 _A/N: One of kate-dammit-run's anons on tumblr mentioned how cute it would be for Patterson to stay with Jeller after being blown up and I couldn't resist!_

 _I'm sure it's a little OOC and definitely rushed, but I wanted to get this out before tonight's episode and I'm constantly pressed for time nowadays! Anyway, I love these precious agents and I had fun writing this, so let me know what you think! :)_


End file.
